Distraction
by rainysunshine11
Summary: There is one thing Ziva David hates most of all. Surprises. And when someone shows up at NCIS that she NEVER expected to see again, she does not know what to think. Ziva is thrown head on into a whirlwind where she must fight for things she has never had to before. A little TIVA if you look close. My first fic! Read, review, repeat!
1. And So It Begins

_A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first fic, so it probably will not be that great. Thank you for reading!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own NCIS. If I did, I would not be wasting my life on here(:_

DING. The bell above the coffee shop door sounded as Ziva warily shuffled in.

"Good morning!" the woman at the cash register rang out way to chipper for this early. Ziva just nodded in response, as she walked over to the woman to place her order.

"Hi there! What can I get you this lovely morning?" the woman sang. _What is so lovely about it? It is 6 in the freakin' morning_, Ziva thought. But instead, she replied with a tired, "I will have a double chocolate blended espresso."

"Okey dokey artichokey! No problem!" Ziva had to bite her tongue on this one.

She walked over to her usual corner seat in the coffee shop and waited for her name to be called. She basically threw herself down in a heap of exhaustion and wariness. Before she knew it, she had closed her eyes and started to doze.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she jumped at the sight of two familiar emeralds staring right back at her.

"Oh my god, Tony! What are you doing?"

"Hello to you too. And relax. I am just getting coffee. Same as you. I was up at work till 3am too, y'know. Here." the Italian responded as he pushed her coffee towards her.

"Wait…work! Oh my god, I have to get to work! I fell asleep! How long have I been here? I cannot be la-" Ziva started into hysterics.

"Calm down already! You just dozed for a few minutes. When I walked in, they were JUST calling your name for your drink. But, if we don't get a move on, Gibbs is going to have our heads on his wall, so come on, Sleeping Beauty. Nap time is over."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "If I was not a walking mommy right now, I would slug you."

"Mummy, Zi. Unless you have something you want to tell me." Somehow she found the strength to slug him anyways.

"Alright. Let's go." he mumbled, attempting to ignore the lingering pain on his arm.

"Wait!" he called as she walked away.

"What, Tony?" the Israeli asked clearly irritated. "We are going to be late!"

* * *

"I just didn't want you to forget your coffee." he said softly holding her cup out to her.

"Oh", she stated feeling guilty for being short with him, "thank you." With that, they disappeared to their own cars."About time, DiNozzo. You better have a darn good excuse for being late.", Gibbs shot at Tony, immediately, as he headed to the bull pen from the elevator, coffee in hand. Confusion was evident on Gibbs' face as Ziva emerged from the elevator as well right behind Tony. "Ziva?"

Ziva looked at her boss with shame. "I am so sorry, Gibbs. I was so tired, and I have just been having a bad morning. It will not happen again."

"Don't ever apologize, but it _better_ never happen again. But, I could have sworn I saw you signing in earlier this morning."

"No, sir. I just got here."

"Hm…I guess I am getting old quicker than I thought." DiNozzo was the one to bite his tongue on this one. "Well, hurry up and get settled, we have a busy day ahead of- is that coffee?" He was staring at Tony's cup.

Tony quickly tried to hide it. "Um…yeah. Sorry about that, boss. I would have gotten you some, but-"

"You too, David?", Gibbs interrupted.

"Yes. I am sorry." She replied, guilt once again plastering her face.

"Where from?" He asked, jealousy creeping into his tone.

"Charlene's." The two agents responded in unison.

"You mean, you two BOTH went to Charlene's?" Gibbs scrutinizing the two of them.

"Well, yes. But not together. I mean we were together…but not TOGETHER together. Not like on a date or anything. Because that would be weird. And against rule 12. And we always go by your rules. Except for this morning when we were late of course…but that will not happen again. Just like Ziva and I will not be getting coffee together again. Even though we were not really TOGETH-OUCH!" He stopped talking as he felt Ziva stomp her foot onto his.

"We both showed up at the same coffee shop this morning. By coincidence, I assure you." Ziva covered, calmly.

"I don't believe in coincid-" He was interrupted by a ringing on his desk. He quickly picked it up shooting one last glare at Ziva and Tony. "Gibbs."

McGee had been sitting at his desk silently watching the whole interaction. "So, what really happened?" he whispered.

"As much as you wish your little fairytale Lisa and Tommy would get together, McRomeo, it is not going to happen. Dream on."

"I never said anything about you guys getting together. That was all-"

"We've got a dead marine. Grab your gear."

Ziva silently thanked God for distractions.

* * *

"McGee, get the van and meet us in the lobby in five minutes. Take the stairs.", the silver-haired agent instructed as he tossed the keys to the younger man.

"Sure thing, boss." And he was gone.

"Tony. Ziva. You waiting for an invitation? Elevator. Now!" Gibbs demanded.

The two agents scrambled with their bags as they rushed to push the elevator button. The older man followed them into the metal box.

Tony and Ziva both faced the door as they descended to the lobby, hoping to avoid any conversation from their team leader.

They both let out an audible sigh of relief as the elevator dinged, indicating they had made it to the ground floor. Gibbs headed off to the right as the other two agents went to go sign the team out. Tony, with his curiosity, watched as Gibbs made his way over to a girl who looked to be about 15 years old sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, impatiently. The older man started asking the girl questions that Tony couldn't quite make out. However, he did notice the different expressions on his boss' face as the girl responded. At one point, Gibbs sat in the chair next to the girl and continued talking to her.

"Guess we will not be leaving immediately after all." Tony commented to his partner as they signed their names along with McGee's and Gibbs'.

"What are you talking about?" Ziva asked, confused.

"Well look over there. Gibbs is talking with some little girl. You know how he gets around kids. We may be here forEVER.", he complained.

"Stop whining, and who are you talking about? Why is there a kid in the building at all?"

"I dunno. Maybe she was a witness to a murder or something. Who cares?"

"Where is she?"

"Right over there. What is the big deal any-"

He was cut short by a gasp from his female partner. "What?"

"That little girl. I know her." She sounded frantic.

"You KNOW her? Well, that's weird. Oh my God! It's true! What you said at the coffee shop! You ARE a mommy! So, who's the father?" He taunted, not taking her seriously.

"Shut up, Tony. I am not joking." She noticed Gibbs standing up and heading over along with the girl.

"Ziva? We need to talk. This is Kinneret Zamud. Age 15. She claims to be your-" Gibbs started.

"I know. She is my cousin."


	2. Truths Revealed

_A/N: Thanks for all of the alerts and favorites! Wow, my inbox is full haha. This chapter is a lot of dialogue, but it includes a little more back story to clear up some confusion. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters, but I do own Kinneret (Kinsey) Zamud. _

_Enjoy!_

"Well, this just went from weird to weirder." Tony threw in, trying to make light of the awkward conversation.

"So, it's true. She says that-" Gibbs started.

"I can speak for myself, Agent Gibbs." Kinneret spoke up for the first time, in a melodic heavily-accented voice. "I was not sure if you would remember me. It has been 11 years."

"I know how long it has been." Ziva spoke sharply. "What are you doing here?"

Kinneret did not get to answer her as Gibbs cell phone started to buzz. "Gibbs. Okay. Yeah. Be right there." He flipped his phone shut and jammed it back into his pocket. "McGee is in the garage with the van. We need to go. DiNozzo, you are with me and McGee in the van. Ziva, why don't you take your cousin in your car and follow behind us."

"You want me to bring a 15 year old to a crime scene?" Ziva asked, bewildered.

"We don't really have another option, do we? And it'll give you guys a chance to work out whatever is going on."

"There is nothing to work out, Gibbs."

"Until you can give me a reason why there is a minor in NCIS, I will be the judge of that. Now, get a move on. Unless you prefer the body rotting before we get there?"

* * *

"You never answered me. What are you doing in America?" Ziva asked her younger cousin after ten minutes of silent driving.

"Finding you." The girl threw back with an implied 'duh' to the statement.

"I want a reason, Kinneret!"

"It's Kinsey. No one calls me Kinneret anymore."

"I will ask you one more time. Why. Are. You. Here?" Ziva asked venomously, becoming impatient.

"Okay, look, Ziva. I do not want to be here as much as you obviously do not want me here. Well, I'm sorry, but we're both going to have to just deal with it. You know that my father was killed in an extraction three months before you left, right? Well, my mother has been battling malignant neoplasm for 7 months and-"

"Malignant neoplasm. You mean…cancer?", Ziva asked, shocked.

"Yes." Kinsey threw in quickly. "Well, she died a week and a half ago."

"Oh my God! I am so sorry, Kinsey. I had no idea."

"Well, why would you? You never call, never write. You never even said goodbye." The younger Israeli recoiled, throwing back at her older cousin.

"Kinneret, you know very well all of the complications that came with the situation. I did not WANT to leave, but the time came for me to-"

"That is a bunch of bull. You have wanted to get out of Israel since the day Tali died! You never could handle the fact that there were people who would kill innocent little Tali." The way she said her name was almost mocking. "So, when you heard that Ari was in danger, you just had to play hero because you just couldn't handle losing ANOTHER beloved sibling. Well, news flash, Ziva. Other people are hurting out there too, and just because life does not go perfect doesn't mean you can just step out of people's lives. My mother needed you! Do you have any IDEA how hard it is to stand there and WATCH as one of your own family members is killed?"

"Do not tell _me_ it is hard to watch the death of a family member. I held my mother's hand as she died in our living room because my father would not pay for hospital care. I stood outside the building waiting for Tali to come out and show off her approval for early entry into the IDF. They never even recovered her REMAINS. The only thing that ever came out of that building was news that she had been blasted to bits. For God's sake, Kinsey, I killed my own BROTHER!" Kinsey's eyes went wide at her last statement.

"You…you did what?" The girl asked, suddenly scared.

Ziva paused, realizing what she had just said. Kinneret had not heard the news, yet. It had been 11 years since his death but she had never heard the news. "Ari. He went rogue. He killed an NCIS agent. He tried to kill my boss. I shot him before he got the chance."

"You shot Ari? Your b-b-brother? To save your _'boss'_?" She started the sentence softly, unbelieving, but spat the last word. "What about family? You ever think about saving THAT? Oh…unfamiliar with the term? Family. A group of people who stick together! They do not just walk out of each other's lives because something bad happens. They help each other through it. They definitely do not SHOOT EACH OTHER!"

"Listen to me, Kinneret. You can not just show up at my work place and start telling me how to live my life. You do not know ANYTHING about me, okay? I do not know what you want from me, but I know that I can not offer it. So, please, catch the next flight back to Israel and just _get out of my life!_"

* * *

There was no conversation the rest of the drive. "Wait in the car." She instructed as they pulled into the crime scene and Ziva jumped out of her Mini Cooper to meet up with the rest of the team.

"McGee, bag and tag. Ziva, take pictures. DiNozzo, help out wherever is needed." And with that he was gone to go interview the witness.

"So, I take it that you two have hugged, reunited, and pulled a Full House?" Tony went right in trying to get as much information as he could. He was simply met with raised eyebrows. "Y'know, Uncle Jesse, DJ, Michelle, Danny, Joey, Steph, the whole crew!" He was met with a blank stare. "Okay, forget it. So, what's up with her? How did she get here, what does she want, come on! Lay it on me! I want the _whole_ story."

"I can not tell you something that I do not even know." She responded snapping pictures of the mauled marine that lay sprawled in the dirt in front of her.

"You mean, in the 45 minute car ride, you didn't get any information out of her?"

"I would rather not discuss it. Now, can we _please _get back to work?"

"Fine, fine, fine. But this conversation's not over!" Something was definitely up. The Israeli Ice Queen was acting even more icy than normal. And that's saying a lot._  
_

_Thank you for reading! Read, review, repeat!_

_~Avigaill_


	3. Different

_A/N: Thanks to **Faye444** and **MindFullofStories** for reviewing. I really appreciate it. Also, thanks everyone for all of the favorites and follows. It means a lot to me. This may be the last chapter I get to publish before I go on vacation for two weeks. So enjoy! _

Even the creak of her apartment door was too loud for Ziva's ears after her long, tiring day. "Alright, you can have my bed for the night and I will take the couch. We will call Eli tomorrow morning and maybe he can arrange for a flight back to Tel Aviv for you quickly. He has a bunch of connections."

Kinsey looked shocked. "You call your dad Eli?"

Ziva just gave a small laugh that was as dry as the desert. "Eli is as far from my father as someone can get. The only thing we have in common is our last name and hopefully that will not always be the case."

"I don't agree with that. He is your dad and always will be. You should respect him." Ziva almost laughed again but noticed that Kinsey was serious.

"Kinsey. You do not understand. Someday you will, but not now. And you should not worry about things like that anyways. You are 15! Enjoy your youth! Besides…I think we have argued enough for a lifetime, so I think we should call a truce for the night. Agreed?"

Kinsey smiled, not quite ready to let the subject drop, but knew better than to push it with her older cousin. "Agreed."

"Well, it is a bit late to order in pizza or anything. Is macaroni and cheese okay?"

"Maca-what?"

"Do not tell me you have never had mac and cheese?" Ziva almost yelled, unbelieving. "Well, then let me be the first to introduce you to an American classic."

Kinsey just looked on, amused. "You are really embracing this whole America thing, huh?"

"I AM a citizen now." Ziva dramatically bowed.

"I thought I had heard that, but I thought maybe it was just a rumor. Y'know, things can get a little mixed up between America and Israel."

"Shh! I need to concentrate while I cook."

"You cook now?" Kinsey was shocked. She had heard multiple accounts of Ziva almost burning a house down.

"You see. THAT, my friend, is the beauty of macaroni and cheese. You just pour the noodles into a pot and boil the water! VOILA!" She turned on an Italian accent and skipped off to the kitchen to put her boiling water skills to the test. Kinsey just watched her cousin with big brown eyes not knowing what to think.

"What has happened to you?" She finally got the nerves to ask.

"Whatever are you talking about, Kinneret?" Ziva continued with her (bad) Italian accent as she pulled a knife from her hip holster and sliced open the macaroni and cheese box.

"Okay, well the knife thing was the same old Ziva I remember, but you seem a lot different."

Ziva dropped the accent and looked at her younger cousin curiously. "Different? How do you mean?"

"I can not really place it, but something about you is just really different. Changed."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Well, I do not really know. The Ziva I remember was sharp, straight on. She did not joke or laugh and she rarely even smiled. You were more of an aunt than a cousin to me because you seemed so distant and mature and mysterious. When I was born, you were already training for Mossad and you were about to enter the IDF. I had no idea what either of them were, but I knew that Uncle Eli always bragged about you and your natural talent. That is the same Ziva I saw today at NCIS. To the other agents, I mean. You engaged yourself in conversation and all, but you were so serious and defensive. Don't think I could not hear you guys talking just because I was in the car. Those two guys…what were their names?"

"McGee and DiNozzo?" Ziva offered.

"Yes! Them! They would make jokes and tease each other and you and everything and you would just roll your eyes or ignore them. Like you did when we were all in Israel."

"What is your point, Kinsey?" Ziva said, becoming impatient.

"Well, now that it is just us…you act different. More care free and relaxed. You act like you are walking on sunshine or something. Nothing like I have ever seen you act before."

"Well, Kinsey, if you do not remember…you were only 5 when I left."

"I know that, Ziva. But that does not change anything. I can remember those five years like they were yesterday. And I have heard storied, Ziva. When I was born, Aunt Rivka had just died. So had Tali. The family was starting to fall apart, but my mom always tells me-"She caught herself. "USED to tell me stories of what you and Tali and even Ari were like as kids. Ari was the smart, innocent kid who always kind of stood out, right to the day when he made the decision to become a doctor instead of follow your father into Mossad and set your dad off. Tali was the fun one. She had something that you and Ari never did. Compassion." Ziva's eyes started to sting at hearing her cousin's words, knowing how true they were. "You were always the same, my mother said. Straight as a bullet."

"Yeah, well, things change."

"And I get that. But what I do NOT get is how someone can change within a half hour. Just a bit ago you were typing diligently on your computer, somehow ignoring the spitballs being thrown at you from across the bullpen. Now, you are acting dramatic and skipping. SKIPPING! Ziva David does not skip."

"Kinsey. There are things in life that you will never understand, just as there things in my life that I will never understand. Bad things happen. You know that. But, the past is the past. We get over it and move on with our lives. If you are lucky, things may even turn back to normal. But, no matter what you do to move on, it still hurts. And, Kinsey, if you truly know me like you say you do…then you know that I can not stand appearing weak. Being hurt is being weak, and if other people saw that, I do not know what I would do with myself. So, I bury it. Deep, deep down in the ground. Then, just to make sure it never gets discovered and dug up, I cover it with a fake layer of grass, so it blends in with the rest of my backyard. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"I think so, but I still wonder which Ziva is the real you."

Ziva just smiled. "I know it's confusing, but do not worry about it. Besides, the macaroni is ready. I am SURE you will be impressed with my ability to boil water perfectly."

Kinneret silently decided that she liked this Ziva better, and maybe…just MAYBE…there was a way to bring it out more often.

_Read, review, repeat!_

_~Avigaill _

_P.S. If you have not figured it out already by my name and my grammar, I am not from America. I am actually from Israel (COINCIDENCE?) and I moved here three years ago, so I am still catching onto some commonly used expressions and some of the weird grammar you guys use haha. Believe me...it is is really hard to go from "Shalom!" to "Hey, girl! What's up?" :)_


	4. Questioning

_A/N: Thanks for all the favorites and thank you **MindFullofStories** for the review._

_Thought I would throw Tony into the mix in this next chapter. And be ready, because I am seeing some Tiva in the chapter after this. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to NCIS. I DO own Kinsey, though(:_

_Enjoy!_

"How well would you say that you know Ziva David?"

"Um…pretty well." Tony was starting to get a little creeped out by this Ziva mini-me in front of him. The minute Ziva had headed to the bathroom, Kinsey had jumped up and walked over to Tony and immediately started interrogating him like she held conversations with forty year old strangers every day. Although, being Ziva's cousin…she may very well.

"HOW well? Like…on a scale of 1 to 10."

"Eight? I don't know…"

"Well, you should! She is your partner!" She exclaimed as she blew a few dark brown hairs out of her face.

"Is eight not a good number? Fine, fine. If I say ten will you leave me alone?" The Italian whined.

"No." Just like that.

"What do you mean 'no'? I have work to do. You are just distracting me." He had never had a kid tell him outright no.

"Well, I have work to do, too, Agent DiNozzo. And I need _your_ help with it. SO, please will you just stop all your complaining and answer my questions already?" What was with this kid? Definitely related to Ziva.

"If I help you, you have to help me with my work later."

"Deal. Now hurry up and answer before she gets back!" She snapped, quickly. "How well do you know Ziva?" She spoke slowly and deliberately as if she was speaking to a child.

"I know her pretty well. She's more than just a partner to me." Kinsey's ears perked up at this.

"Oh?" She asked innocently.

"Yeah. I mean…we've been through a lot together. We definitely don't always see eye to eye." He stopped as he saw the confusion on her face. "It means we don't always agree." Kinsey nodded as she understood, prompting him to continue. "But, at the end-"

"Sh!" And with that Kinsey had retreated back to Ziva's desk acting as if nothing had happened. And just in time, too. There was Ziva, coming out of the bathroom, rounding the corner of the bull pen.

"McGee got a suspect. Gibbs found him this morning and he is in interrogation, now. It's my turn to question, so I have to go." She then directed her words to Kinsey. "You are welcome to stand in observation if you like or you can stay here. Just always be with an adult." She turned back to both Tony and her cousin. "And try not to get in trouble." Then, she was gone. Retreating to the elevator.

"I am headed to observation. You can come if you want or stay here or whatever, like Ziva said." Tony offered to the young Israeli.

"I guess I will come with you. I still have questions to ask you and I want to see what American interrogation is like. I somehow doubt it is the same as Mossad."

"You're Mossad?" Tony was shocked a fifteen year old would be allowed in.

She realized what she had said too late. "Kind of. I am in training. That is, until I came here. My training has been suspended until I can return to Israel." She felt like she could trust this guy. "Oh, and please don't tell Ziva. She doesn't know yet." She added quickly at the end.

"Your own cousin doesn't know that you are working with her father? The father who basically sent her to die in the Somalia? The father who treats Ziva as a soldier instead of a daughter? The father who basically has no emotions and would send his own daughter on a mission to kill another of his kids? The father who was never a father? Psh, she wouldn't be mad about that!"

"Wait. ELI was the one that told her to kill Ari?" Kinsey had not heard this part of the story yet.

"Yeah, as far as I know. But she didn't do it. Gibbs did before she got the chance. Probably a good thing too, because I don't know someone could actually kill her own sibling."

"What? She didn't kill him? She told me she did!"

Tony was surprised, to say the least. "Maybe she just said that to avoid a long explanation. That was when she first got here to NCIS and nobody really like her, then. But, don't tell her! She thinks that she's everyone's favorite." He winked at her and walked to the elevator.

The whole ride down to interrogation, Kinsey and Tony were both thinking about the same thing…but from a different perspective. Ziva had obviously lied to one of them. But which?

"Anyways, Agent DiNozzo-"

"You can call me Tony."

She played around with the word in her mouth, eventually deciding that it felt okay. "Okay, then, TONY, if you could pick one word to describe Ziva, what would you use?"

"Oh gosh, that's a hard one. Killer? No, no. Guarded? Maybe. Oh! I got it. Icy."

"Icy?"

"Yeah. Like her remarks and just her all around way of doing things. She does not take shortcuts and she is extremely defensive. Icy."

"So, she never really goofs around? Like, for example, speaks in funny accents, acts dramatic, or oh, I do not know…skips?"

"Ziva?" He laughed out loud at this. "No way. She comes in, gets the job done, and leaves. Definitely no dramatics."

"You are sure?"

"You're."

"Huh?"

"The word is you're. Not 'you are.' You're."

"I do not understand."

"And right there? Instead of saying do not, you say don't."

"What is the point?"

"'What's'. And it just makes speaking more casual. At least while you are here in America. No one talks in full sentences."

"English is so weird."

"You're just like her, ya' know that?"

"What do you mean? Who?"

"Ziva. When she first came to America, she never spoke in contractions-those little word combination things. You are extremely curious. You look just like her except for your freckles. She never had any of those. But your build-petite yet strong-your long dark brown hair, your caramel colored eyes, even the way you dress! No other fifteen year old girl would ever choose to wear camo cargo pants and a tank top. You don't wear a lot of make up like most girls your age, and neither did Ziva when she first got here. Your personality is a lot alike, too. You are extremy comfortable around people. You are not easily intimidated and you seem kind of guarded about some of your feelings. Oh, and lastly…you obviously have no idea how to have fun!"

She scoffed at his last remark. "I do, too!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it. What do you do on an average Friday night?"

"Well, it…it just depends." She stuttered.

Tony looked smug. "Do you have any friends come over? Go out with a boyfriend?"

"I do not…DON'T…have a boyfriend. And somet-"

"You're fifteen and you don't have a boyfriend? What is wrong with you?"

"There is nothing wrong with me! I just do not see a need."

"A need? A NEED? You're fifteen! You don't have to have a 'need.' Live a little! Okay, that settles it. My mission is now to get you to have fun. Before you leave here, you will be blending in with every other fifteen year old girl. When do you go back to Tel Aviv?"

She got quiet. "I do not really know."

"What do you mean? You have to known when your plane will be here. What are you doing here anyways?"

"Well, I kind of tried to explain to Ziva that my parents are both dead and everything and I think she understands that. But she is not putting two and two together. The only other living relative that I know of is Eli. And you and I both know that perhaps he is not in the best time to raise another kid. So, in my dad's will, he had said I should live with Tali, who was Ziva's little sister. Not sure if you have heard of her."

"Yes, Ziva mentioned her once before. I thought she died in a Hamas bombing, though." He remembered one of their first conversations outside the hotel that rainy night with coffee and pizza in hand.

"Exactly, which is why I can not live with her. Well, my mom wrote that I could decide for myself who to live with as long as they are related by blood or I could go into a foster program or an orphanage. I looked up everyone I could and the only two living relatives are Ziva and Eli. If I do not live with one of them, I will have to become a ward of the State of Israel."

"Wait. So this isn't just some spontaneous vacation where you visit your long-lost cousin?" Tony was finally catching on.

"No. I came here to live with her."

"Does she know that?"

"Based on some of her conversations with me, I am beginning to think no."

_Read, review, repeat!_

_~Avigaill_


	5. A Tear for Tali

_A/N: Sorry for my absence. And just for the record, this IS the last chapter for a couple weeks because I will actually be in Israel. _

_This chapter has a little TIVA in it if you squint._

_Enjoy!_

"So…your cousin."

"What about her?" Ziva asked, very tired. The current case was not anywhere near being done and it was already 9pm. The team probably would not be allowed to go home for a few hours, making them the only team still in the building. Agent Hardaya, an agent from a team a few bullpens down, had agreed to swing Kinsey to Ziva's house on her own way home.

"She's…interesting." Tony was trying to approach the subject subtly, but he wasn't getting much of a response from his partner.

"Yes, she is. Quite the handful."

"Yeah, definitely. I like her, though." He assured Ziva.

"_You _like her? Oh no. If Tony DiNozzo actually likes someone…there must be a problem with the person." She joked, mockingly rolling her eyes.

"Ziva, Ziva, Ziva. You forget that I like YOU." He pointed out.

She looked up quizzically at this. He caught himself. "As a partner and friend, I mean."

Oh, right. What was she thinking? "I know."

"We talked for a while today."

"Oh? About what?"

"You." He gave a famous DiNozzo smile.

"What about me?"

"She asked about your past." Ziva looked up sharply at this. "Don't worry. I told her that I didn't know much anyways."

Ziva relaxed...a little. "She is too curious for her own good."

"Yep." Tony smiled.

"And knowsey. And annoying. And strong-willed. And determined and stubborn and hot-headed. And she drives me absolutely NUTS." She looked over at Tony to see a huge smirk on his face. "What?"

"You do realize that you just described yourself?"

Ziva's poker face faltered for a split second before she recovered it with a 'classic Ziva David eye roll.' "Did not."

"Did too! Face it, Zi, she is just like you."

She quickly attempted to change the subject. "Tony, did you know that she has never heard of macaroni and cheese?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tony broke away from his computer to give her a good stare.

"No! And take out. She has never had take out. I told her we would get Chinese take out tomorrow night and she had no idea what I was talking about!" Ziva was starting to get worked up now. Tony was just listening wide-eyed. "And family portraits? She has never had one. She has never been to Disney World and she does not know what Nike is." Ziva got out of her chair on this one and made her way to the front of her desk to sit on it. "She has ever had her nails done or had her hair professionally cut. Her mom always cut her hair. She does not have an email and has never even heard of Twitter!" Ziva rarely got this excited about anything, Tony observed. But, Ziva was so worked up that she had unknowingly started to use her hands as she talked, almost knocking over her computer and cup of hot chocolate as she flailed her arms describing all the things her cousin had never heard of.

"And Tony! You are going to die on this one. She. Has. Never. Seen. Indiana Jones!"

It was Tony's turn to get out of his chair. "What?" He screeched in disbelief making his way over to her. "Where has this kid been? Under a rock?"

"Basically. Believe me, Tony. Here in America we have so many things that we just take for granted."

"But Indiana Jones?" He was still in shock. "Oh! And today she told me that she has never had a boyfriend!"

"So?"

"She is fifteen!" He basically yelled.

"So what? I did not have my first boyfriend until I was nineteen." What was with these Israelis?

"Well, yeah. You're dad probably threatened to snipe any guys that you even TALKED to. But seriously, this kid does not know the meaning of the word, 'fun'."

"I agree. Before she leaves, we need to show her some tricks of the trade." There it was. _'Before she leaves…'_

Tony instantly sobered. "Yeah and by the way…do you know when she is leaving?"

Ziva got quiet, too. "No. I called Eli today and he was as confused as I am. He told me that immediately after her mother's death, Kinsey came to him, asking him for help. He, of course, could not offer it. Then, she left, and he has not heard from her since. I asked him if he could get a flight out for her and he said that he is 'just too busy.' Too busy for his own niece."

"Well, Ziva, like I said…I talked to her today."

"Yeah?"

"And she said that this is not really a temporary thing."

Ziva was trying to catch on. "What do you mean?"

He moved another few steps closer to her. "Ziva, think about it! She has no family except for you and your dad. She is fifteen. She can't just live on the streets."

"What are you saying?" She was starting to understand, and she did NOT like what she was hearing.

"Ziva, she needs to live with you." He braced himself for the explosion.

It didn't come. He looked over at Ziva to see that she was silent and looking down. "Ziva?" Nothing. "Ziva, what's wrong?"

She looked up at him, miserably. "I can not do it, Tony."

"Sure you can. I can is what makes a great man. You're Ziva David. You can do anything." He tried to cheer her up, not really knowing why she was so upset.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Tony, you do not get it. I have tried all of this before."

"What do you mean?"

"This 'raising a kid' thing." She paused. "After Kinneret's father died, her mom was an emotional wreck. So I stepped in for a while to help out. I was horrible, Tony. Kinsey was three months old, and extremely high-maintenance." She looked over at Tony. "Some things never change." They both gave a small chuckle. "I was 19 and I was with the IDF. However, since my father was deputy director, I was already being sent on missions for Mossad and completing my training. We had a big conflict going on with one of our officers. He was killing a lot of children. And for no reason. He was blowing up schools. Shooting kids as they played basketball. And it was all at random. So, we had no idea which kids he was targeting next. And he left no clues. The ONLY thing we knew was that he was a Mossad officer and a male. That is it. So, everyone was on edge, constantly."

Tony nodded to let her know he was listening and that she could go on. She continued, "Well, I was trying to juggle that whole problem and helping with Kinsey all at the same time. And believe me, Tony, raising a kid is not easy. Well, one day Kinsey was over at my house, and we had just walked in the house from swinging out front."

_The door slammed behind the soldier as she stepped inside, holding the three month old in her arms. She threw off her boots and only made it a few steps inside before hearing a chilling voice._

_"Officer David. What a surprise!" It was then that the source of the voice emerged. An olive skinned man, with curly dark brown hair and chocolate eyes intense as the sun. Ziva knew the man all too well._

_"What do you want, Itamar?" Ziva demanded._

_"Oh? We are on a first name basis, now, are we Miss David?"_

_"Get out of my house. Now."_

_"You are just like your father. Do you know that?" He was obviously in no hurry._

_Ziva reached for her gun, realizing quickly that she had left it in her room. There was no way she could get there before him. "What do you want?" She hissed._

_"You never were much for small talk. I think you know exactly what I want. Just give the little girl and you can go on living life. Unless, of course, you have a good trade?" He smiled venomously, showing off his yellow teeth._

_"Take her." She held the baby out for Itamar without even hesitating._

_He raised his dark eyebrows in surprise, but continued to smile. "Well, well, Officer David, I must say that I am surprised. You made the right choice, though, I assure you." He reached for Baby Kinsey, but before he could touch her, three gunshots rang out and he was on the ground. She turned to see Tali-innocent sixteen year old Tali- with a semi-automatic rifle in her hand, a look of shock plastered on her face. The look quickly turned to horror as she dropped the gun and ran over to the dead man on the ground, sobbing and putting her hands on his chest as if she could magically close th three identical bullet wounds that were now starting to overfill with blood and pool around the man. And get all over Tali's hands. She turned to Ziva with a look of terror. "Ziva. What have I done?" She asked in her meek voice. _

_The older Israeli just stared at her sister. "Help me, Ziva." She begged. "Please!"_

__"And do you know what I did, Tony?" She looked up at him, her eyes getting angry. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DID? I turned and walked away. Just like that. Leaving my little _sister_ to cry over the body of a man she had just killed because _I _was going to let him kill my cousin."

"Hey, it's okay." Tony said, gently, moving even closer so he could put his hand on top of hers. "You were eighteen. You were just scared."

Ziva yanked her hand away. "No I wasn't!" She spat. "I wasn't scared at all. I was glad, Tony. Glad!"

"What's wrong with that? She had just saved your cousin's life."

"That's not why I was glad, Tony. I didn't care about the reason she had killed Itamar at all. Do you know why I was glad? Do you KNOW what was going through my mind at that point? 'My little sister finally had the guts to kill someone.' Guts. GUTS! I was glad she had the GUTS!" She slammed her hand on her desk, her eyes filling with tears. "And I wanted to make sure she knew that."

_"Ziva." Tali called to her sister from the doorway of Ziva's room, using the greeting as a question to enter. Ziva nodded, signaling Tali could come in. Ziva was sitting on her bed writing something down in a notebook. Tali sat down quietly beside her and sat silently for a while._

_"Ziva, I killed a man." As if she did not already know._

_"Yes, you did." Ziva continued to write._

_"Ziva! I KILLED a man!" Tali repeated, frustrated at her sister's reaction._

_Ziva looked up from her notebook. "I heard you."_

_"Does this bother you at ALL?" Tali was getting angry now. Something that did not happen very often._

_"Why should it?"_

_"Because that man is dead!"_

_"Okay?"_

_"ZIVA! I KILLED HIM!"_

_"I know!" Ziva closed her notebook. "What do you want me to say?"_

_"I want you to talk to me and actually respond!"_

_"You want me to talk to you? Okay...let's talk! Here, I'll go first." Ziva spat, sarcastically, then turned to her sister. "You want to know what I think of you killing Itamar? I am glad you did it. Got it? GLAD."_

_"Glad?" Tali jumped up from the bed, infuriated._

_"Yeah. Glad. I am glad you finally got the nerve to shoot someone. I'm glad that you finally overcame your cowardice and got some guts. I'm glad you fired those three rounds. I'm glad he is dead!" Ziva yelled, venomously._

_Tali backed a few steps from her sister, as if she was some kind of monstrous animal. Ziva wasn't done yet. "That man was a killer. He killed innocent kids and didn't feel a thing."_

_"Neither do you! You were about to let that man shoot Kinneret, and you probably would not have even lost any sleep over it!"_

_"I did what I had to do." Ziva told her sister._

_"What you **had** to do?" Tali gave a cold laugh. "Yeah, what you had to do to save your own butt. You know Ziva, you may be unfamiliar with the term compassion, but some of us have it. Just like SOME of us have a heart. Obviously, you missed the day those were being handed out. And you now what, Ziva? I feel sorry for you. Because, you are going to have an awful long, miserable life ahead of you without those things."_

_"Well, you know what? Sometimes I wish that you had no life ahead of you at ALL. Sometimes, I wish that you were never born. And right now? Right now, I wish that it had been YOU who had been shot! I wish that it was you who had been bleeding on that cold floor! I wish that you were DEAD!" Tali, a look of disbelief on her face, ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. _

__"Do you know what happened next, Tony? She went to the IDF headquarters. She was going to ask if there was anyway she could enlist early. Anyway she could just get away from Tel Aviv. I followed her, Tony. I was going to apologize as soon as she came out of the building. But I never got the chance." A few tears ran down her face. "They said that the bomb was never targeting anyone. It was just another Hamas suicide bombing. A minor one, in fact. Most people even made it out with minimal injuries. But, not Tali." Ziva broke off into sobs. "She never came out of that building, Tony." He pulled her closer and she wrapped her arms around him, still sobbing.

And that is how they stayed for half an hour. Him stroking her hair while she just cryed. A tear for every man she had ever killed and not grieved over, a tear for all the times she didn't let herself cry when she should have, a tear for each of her lost family members...

And a tear for Tali.

_Read, review, repeat!_

_~Avigaill_


	6. Decisions

_Hey guys! I am back! But, not in the physical state. Because, well...SURPRISE! I am in Israel, still. And I will be for a while. In fact...I moved back here!_

_Yeah, I know...big decision. Well, when I visited a few weeks ago..I fell in love all over again, and I just could not tear myself away, so I decided to just stay! I renewed my citizenship two days ago, and I now have dual citizenship in Israel and the United States of America! My parents and brother actually went back to the States, and they are going to mail my things to me as soon as possible. I decided to just move in with my older cousin (whose name happens to be Kinneret :) and her husband. So, here I am back in Tel Aviv!_

_Home sweet home._

_But, anyways...on with the story!_

* * *

Ziva winced as the door loudly creaked behind her. She REALLY needed to get that fixed.

Kinsey's head immediately shot up from the couch. "You just got in?" She asked groggily. Ziva nodded. "Wow. They really do work you guys hard, huh?"

Ziva smiled. "It is worth it."

"So, did you get him?" The young girl yawned.

"The bad guy? Yeah. It was exactly who McGee said he was. We went in and found him at his house two hours ago. He came with us pretty easily. No shots were fired or anything. It was an easy night." She responded, dropping her bag and keys on the kitchenette counter.

"I would not call 'working until 2am' an 'easy night.'" Kinsey teased.

"Oh, be quiet. Why are you not asleep anyways?" Ziva switched the subject.

"I was. That is until YOU woke me up." She taunted. Ziva smiled as she noticed that her cousin had teased her twice in a row. Maybe it would not be so hard to loosen her up after all.

"I think SOMEone has spending too much time with Tony."

Kinsey smirked. "I am not the only one."

"What?" Ziva's head shot up.

Kinsey's innocent smile returned. "Oh, nothing."

"It's not 'nothing.' You said something. What did you say?"

"Oh, I was just marveling at these _wonderful_ photos here." She practically sang.

"Huh?" She walked over to see what Kinsey was talking about. She quickly gasped and snatched them from her cousin's hands. "Give those back!"

"I am guessing your boyfriend does not know about these, huh?"

"He is NOT my boyfriend. And of course he knows. It was Christmas two years ago. The team all decided to spend the holiday together since none of really have family around here."

"Well then how come there are no pictures of anyone else?" This brought an uncharacteristic blush to Ziva's face.

"Because….because I lost them!" Ziva nodded sharply, satisfied with her excuse.

"Anyone ever told you that you are a horrible liar?" Kinsey quirked an eyebrow.

Ziva sighed, and hunched her shoulders. "Once or twice." Kinsey continued staring, obviously waiting for an explanation. "Listen, the relationship between Tony and I is…complicated. We are more than partners, but not a lot more. We are like…brother and sister!" Ziva smiled, obviously content with another excuse.

"Brothers do not hold mistletoe over their sister's head and stand there with puckered lips." Kinsey pointed out, holding up another photo. Ziva snatched it up as well.

"Go to sleep." With that, she whacked Kinsey with a pillow and strutted off to her own room.

"Whatever you say, Mrs. DiNozzo!" Kinsey called after her. Ziva rolled her eyes. Too much time with Tony, indeed.

As she changed and hopped into bed, she thought about the night's events. It had been a very bad night, but a very good one at the same time. She did not enjoy crying and feeling so weak as she admitted her past to Tony, but it definitely felt good to get it off of her chest and have someone's shoulder to cry on. And being as that shoulder belonged to Tony…well, that was definitely a plus.

She could not help but think about Tony's words. _Ziva, she needs to live with you._ He was right, of course, but could she do that?

Was she willing to accept all the responsibilities that came with raise a kid? Sure, Kinsey was fifteen and could do most things for herself, but Ziva's lifestyle would be changed. Rules would have to be enforced, boundaries set, punishments given, transportation provided (at least until she got her license), food would have to be made for two, work hours may have to be adjusted, and so much more.

But there was no way she could put Kinsey in an orphanage. She would NOT risk Kinsey's life again. She had been there and done that. And this time, Tali was not there to slap some sense into her.

She mentally juggled the pros and cons to letting Kinsey move in with her. It was too hard of a decision for so late at night, she finally decided. She would just have to sleep on it and decided in the morning.

After an hour of tossing and turning, she decided that she needed help. And there was only one person that she could think of who knew anything about raising kids.

"Gibbs?" She called hopefully, into the phone.

"Yeah. What's up, Ziver? You alright?" His voice echoed the way it could only if he was in a basement.

"Not really."

"Why? What's wrong?" The panic in his voice did not go unnoticed at the sound of one of his 'kids' having a hard time.

"Well, I have a decision to make. And it's a hard one."

He sighed in relief that she was not hurt. "Okay. Well, how can I help you?"

"Well, I know you never like to talk about Kelly…or Shannon, but I need your insight."

"Ziva, maybe this isn't the best time. We can talk later. You should be sleepi-"

"No, Gibbs. I need to talk to you now. As in…NOW now. Not later."

He sighed."Alright, what's going on?"

"Well, you know Kinsey, right?" He gave an unintelligible grunt, translating from 'Gibbs speak' to 'duh.' "Okay, well…her parents are both dead. She has no siblings. My father is her only uncle. And Tali, Ari, and I are her only cousins. Obviously, my siblings are out of the question. Along with my father. Well, Gibbs, that is where it gets tricky. She needs a place to stay. Like…permanently. Or at least until she turns eighteen or when she wants to move out."

"Hmm…so she is asking you?"

"Well, not exactly. We kind of got into a fight the other day and I think she is embarrasses to ask me."

"Then, how do you know she wants to move in with you?"

"She talked to Tony, and he talked to me."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So…"

"So…?"

"Make the decision. And you better make it fast."

"That is all you are going to tell me? I called you for advice, not just to hear someone else repeat what I already said."

"Ziva, this is big. I can't make the decision for you."

"Well, I was hoping you could at least help me out! I mean…you had a daughter. You know what it is like to raise a kid. Can I do it?"

"Ziva, I think that you can do anything you set your mind to. But that's just it. You HAVE to set your mind to it. Raising a daughter is a big deal, especially at Kinsey's age. You have to be ready and prepared. I think you are, but do YOU think you are? Because, in the end…that's what's going to make the difference between you having joy or being constantly stressed."

"So, you really think I should let her move in?"

"I never said 'should.' I said 'could.' It's up to you, Ziva."

She sighed. "Alright. I will let you get back to sleep. Sorry to bother you."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I wasn't asleep anyways."

"Goodnight."

"Night, Ziver."

"And Gibbs?" She added, quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." His response was another grunt and then the dial tone in her ear.

She couldn't help but smile. It was such a Gibbs-y way of 'you're welcome'. And even though their conversation did not go as she had planned, she now knew what she needed to do.

* * *

_Read, review, repeat!_

_~Avigaill_


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